Intermodal cargo freight containers and semi-trailer containers (hereinafter collectively referred to as “containers) provide an economic mode for transporting large quantities of cargo or goods between distant locations. Such containers are stacked on ships, carried on railcars, and are typically moved to various geographically spaced locations. The United States freight transportation network commonly uses cargo or freight containers to move a staggering volume of goods each year. In just the last year, tens of millions of containers entered the United States through water and land ports. In just the last year, approximately 20 billion tons of goods, worth in excess of $10 trillion, were moved into and around the United States. This translates into several hundreds of pounds of freight moved daily for each and every U.S. resident.
A typical freight container includes a box-like enclosure having an open end for loading and unloading goods. A pair of swing-out doors, mounted in a rigid container frame, close the open end of the cargo container during transport. Each door is hingedly secured to the door frame along one vertical edge thereof. In many applications, an exterior of each door is provided with a bar lock assembly including a vertically elongated locking rod. Rotation of the locking rod allows cam structures of the locking rod to cooperate with other conventional instrumentalities on the door frame to secure the respective container door in a closed position.
Coupled with the immense volume of goods being shipped is the exposure to enormous risks. One of the most prevalent and so called “victimless” crimes involves cargo theft. Worldwide industry theft losses for cargo in 1995 were approximated at $470 billion. Between hijackings and internal fraud, the costs to business has reached epidemic proportions. As a consequence, insurance premiums and deductibles are rising at an alarming rate. While insurance payouts can replace such stolen goods, the loss of business from clients forced to buy replacement goods might never be replaced. Companies simply cannot continue to afford to pay the exorbitant price tag involved with having their cargos stolen, ranging from the actual value of the goods, to business downtime, to the loss of opportunities to market and sell seasonable goods, to the total loss of product sales. Even though enforcement agencies have begun forming task forces to deal with cargo theft problems, most of their responses have been reactive rather than proactive. Accordingly, law enforcement agencies and private industry have realized they must work together to find a solution to the problem of cargo theft.
Heretofore, a very basic procedure at inhibiting cargo theft involves locking the doors on the cargo containers. In one form, the locking rods on the doors of the cargo container are configured to permit a padlock or other suitable locking device to be arranged on the outside of the container to prevent rotation of the locking rod. Of course, if the locking rod cannot be rotated, opening of the doors is prevented.
After removing such cargo containers from the ships, they are often placed upon the ground in remote storage areas prior to being loaded on trucks or railcars. The remoteness of such cargo container storage presents a prime opportunity for cargo theft. Another prime opportunity for cargo theft is when a railcar carrying cargo containers is parked on a secluded siding or switching yard. Such areas are vulnerable to having conventional padlocks being cut with bolt cutters or a pry bar without drawing particular attention to such acts. Furthermore, if a theft of cargo does occur in either a storage area, secluded siding or switching yard, or even when the trucker driving the truck used to transport the container between locations it is not present, it is possible for such theft not to be discovered for an extended time period.
Thus, there is a need and continuing desire for a lock-protecting hasp apparatus which is simple, versatile, and embodies enhanced protection from the more common methods of forced attack while structured to accommodate a security seal for providing an easily viewed indication of whether a movable door of the shipping container has been moved from a closed position.